2010 CADILLAC ESCALADE airbag

{WARNING:
Children who are up against, or very close to, any
airbag when it inflates can be seriously injured or
killed. Airbags plus lap-shoulder belts offer
protection for adults and older children, but not for
young children and infants. Neither the vehicle's
safety belt system nor its airbag system is
designed for them. Young children and infants
need the protection that a child restraint system
can provide. Always secure children properly in
your vehicle. To read how, seeOlder Childrenon
page 2!49orInfants and Young Childrenon
page 2!52.
There is an airbagreadiness light on theinstrument panelcluster, which showsthe airbag symbol.
The system checks the airbag electrical system formalfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electricalproblem. SeeAirbag Readiness Lighton page 4!30formore information.
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Where Are the Airbags?
The driver's frontal airbag is in the middle of thesteering wheel.
The right front passenger's frontal airbag is in theinstrument panel on the passenger's side.
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Driver Side Shown, Passenger Side Similar
If the vehicle has seat!mounted side impact airbags forthe driver and right front passenger, they are in the sideof the seatbacks closest to the door.
Driver Side shown, Passenger Side similar
The roof-rail airbags for the driver, right front passenger,and second row outboard passengers are in the ceilingabove the side windows.
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Driver Side shown, Passenger Side similar
If the vehicle has a third row passenger seat, theroof-rail airbags are located in the ceiling above the rearwindows for the outboard passenger positions in thethird row.
{WARNING:
If something is between an occupant and an
airbag, the airbag might not inflate properly or it
might force the object into that person causing
severe injury or even death. The path of an
inflating airbag must be kept clear. Do not put
anything between an occupant and an airbag, and
do not attach or put anything on the steering
wheel hub or on or near any other airbag
covering.
Do not use seat accessories that block the
inflation path of a seat-mounted side impact
airbag.
Never secure anything to the roof of a vehicle with
roof-rail airbags by routing a rope or tie down
through any door or window opening. If you do,
the path of an inflating roof-rail airbag will be
blocked.
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When Should an Airbag Inflate?
Frontal airbags are designed to inflate in moderate tosevere frontal or near-frontal crashes to help reduce thepotential for severe injuries mainly to the driver's or rightfront passenger's head and chest. However, they areonly designed to inflate if the impact exceeds apredetermined deployment threshold. Deploymentthresholds are used to predict how severe a crash islikely to be in time for the airbags to inflate and helprestrain the occupants.
Whether the frontal airbags will or should deploy is notbased on how fast the vehicle is traveling. It dependslargely on what you hit, the direction of the impact, andhow quickly the vehicle slows down.
Frontal airbags may inflate at different crash speeds.For example:
.If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the airbagscould inflate at a different crash speed than if thevehicle hits a moving object.
.If the vehicle hits an object that deforms, theairbags could inflate at a different crash speedthan if the vehicle hits an object does not deform.
.If the vehicle hits a narrow object (like a pole), theairbags could inflate at a different crash speedthan if the vehicle hits a wide object (like a wall).
.If the vehicle goes into an object at an angle, theairbags could inflate at a different crash speedthan if the vehicle goes straight into the object.
Thresholds can also vary with specific vehicle design.
Frontal airbags are not intended to inflate during vehiclerollovers, rear impacts, or in many side impacts.
In addition, the vehicle has dual-stage frontal airbags.Dual-stage airbags adjust the restraint according tocrash severity. The vehicle has electronic frontalsensors, which help the sensing system distinguishbetween a moderate frontal impact and a more severefrontal impact. For moderate frontal impacts, dual-stageairbags inflate at a level less than full deployment. Formore severe frontal impacts, full deployment occurs.
The vehicle has a seat position sensor. Vehicles withdual stage airbags also have seat position sensorswhich enable the sensing system to monitor the positionof the driver seat.
The seat position sensor provides information that isused to determine if the airbags should deploy at areduced level or at full deployment.
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The vehicle may or may not have seat!mounted sideimpact airbags. The vehicle has roof-rail airbags. SeeAirbag Systemon page 2!74. Seat!mounted sideimpact airbags and roof-rail airbags are intended toinflate in moderate to severe side crashes. In addition,these roof-rail airbags are intended to inflate during arollover or in a severe frontal impact. Seat!mounted sideimpact airbags and roof-rail airbags will inflate if thecrash severity is above the system's designedthreshold level. The threshold level can vary withspecific vehicle design.
Roof-rail airbags are not intended to inflate in rearimpacts. A seat!mounted side impact airbag is intendedto deploy on the side of the veicle that is struck. Bothroof-rail airbags will deploy when either side of thevehicle is struck or if the sensing system predicts thatthe vehicle is about to roll over, or in a severe frontalimpact.
In any particular crash, no one can say whether anairbag should have inflated simply because of thedamage to a vehicle or because of what the repaircosts were. For frontal airbags, inflation is determinedby what the vehicle hits, the angle of the impact, andhow quickly the vehicle slows down. For seat!mountedside impact and roof-rail airbags, deployment isdetermined by the location and severity of the sideimpact. In a rollover event, roof-rail airbag deploymentis determined by the direction of the roll.
What Makes an Airbag Inflate?
In a deployment event, the sensing system sends anelectrical signal triggering a release of gas from theinflator. Gas from the inflator fills the airbag causing thebag to break out of the cover and deploy. The inflator,the airbag, and related hardware are all part of theairbag module.
Frontal airbag modules are located inside the steeringwheel and instrument panel. For vehicles with seat!mounted side impact airbags, there are airbagsmodules in the side of the front seatbacks closest to thedoor. For vehicles with roof-rail airbags, there are airbagmodules in the ceiling of the vehicle, near the sidewindows that have occupant seating positions.
How Does an Airbag Restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near frontal collisions,even belted occupants can contact the steering wheelor the instrument panel. In moderate to severe sidecollisions, even belted occupants can contact the insideof the vehicle.
Airbags supplement the protection provided by safetybelts. Frontal airbags distribute the force of the impactmore evenly over the occupant's upper body, stoppingthe occupant more gradually. Seat!mounted side impactand roof-rail airbags distribute the force of the impactmore evenly over the occupant's upper body.
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Rollover capable roof-rail airbags are designed to helpcontain the head and chest of occupants in theoutboard seating positions in the first, second, and thirdrows, if equipped with a third row seat. The rollovercapable roof-rail airbags are designed to help reducethe risk of full or partial ejection in rollover events,although no system can prevent all such ejections.
But airbags would not help in many types of collisions,primarily because the occupant's motion is not towardthose airbags. SeeWhen Should an Airbag Inflate?onpage 2!80for more information.
Airbags should never be regarded as anything morethan a supplement to safety belts.
What Will You See After an Airbag
Inflates?
After the frontal airbags and seat-mounted side impactairbags inflate, they quickly deflate, so quickly thatsome people may not even realize an airbag inflated.Roof-rail airbags may still be at least partially inflated forsome time after they deploy. Some components of theairbag module may be hot for several minutes. Forlocation of the airbag modules, seeWhat Makes anAirbag Inflate? on page 2!81.
The parts of the airbag that come into contact with youmay be warm, but not too hot to touch. There may besome smoke and dust coming from the vents in thedeflated airbags. Airbag inflation does not prevent thedriver from seeing out of the windshield or being able tosteer the vehicle, nor does it prevent people fromleaving the vehicle.
{WARNING:
When an airbag inflates, there may be dust in the
air. This dust could cause breathing problems for
people with a history of asthma or other breathing
trouble. To avoid this, everyone in the vehicle
should get out as soon as it is safe to do so.
If you have breathing problems but cannot get out
of the vehicle after an airbag inflates, then get
fresh air by opening a window or a door. If you
experience breathing problems following an airbag
deployment, you should seek medical attention.
The vehicle has a feature that may automatically unlockthe doors, turn on the interior lamps and hazard warningflashers, and shut off the fuel system after the airbagsinflate. You can lock the doors, turn off the interiorlamps and hazard warning flashers by using thecontrols for those features.
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{WARNING:
A crash severe enough to inflate the airbags may
have also damaged important functions in the
vehicle, such as the fuel system, brake and
steering systems, etc. Even if the vehicle appears
to be drivable after a moderate crash, there may
be concealed damage that could make it difficult
to safely operate the vehicle.
Use caution if you should attempt to restart the
engine after a crash has occurred.
In many crashes severe enough to inflate the airbag,windshields are broken by vehicle deformation.Additional windshield breakage may also occur fromthe right front passenger airbag.
.Airbags are designed to inflate only once. After anairbag inflates, you will need some new parts forthe airbag system. If you do not get them, theairbag system will not be there to help protect youin another crash. A new system will include airbagmodules and possibly other parts. The servicemanual for your vehicle covers the need to replaceother parts.
.The vehicle has a crash sensing and diagnosticmodule which records information after a crash.SeeVehicle Data Recording and Privacyonpage 9!18andEvent Data Recordersonpage 9!19.
.Let only qualified technicians work on the airbagsystems. Improper service can mean that anairbag system will not work properly. See yourdealer/retailer for service.
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